Loading mechanism for traveling conveyers



Sept. 5, 1933. F A, PAMPEL 1,925,990-

LOADING MECHANISM FOR TRAVELING CONVEYERS Sept. 5, 1933. F, A, PAMPEL1,925,990

LOADING MECHANISM` FOR TRAVELING CONVEYERS Filed Sept. 19, 1931 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 5, 1933 UNiTED STATES PATENT ortiesLOADING MECHANISM FR TRAVELING I CONVEYERS' Frederick A. Iainpel,Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Chain Belt Company, Milwaukee, Wis., acorporation of Wisconsin Appiicatin september 19, 1931 Serial No.563,866

4 Claims. (C11f 1985-56) This invention relates to loading apparatus fortraveling conveyers and has for one .of its-objects to provide apparatusof this rcharacter which will besimple in construction, comparatively,inexpensive to manufacture and install, and more eiiicient in use thanthose which have been heretofore proposed. .Y

The invention relates more particularly vto mechanism for loading amaterial 4or materials onto a traveling belt conveyer from one or morematerial-holding bins or hoppers positioned above the said conveyer, andhas for a further object the provision of a movable chute in connectionwith each hoppeneach of which chutes isvmovable from a dischargingposition in close proximity` to the belt conveyer to a non-dischargingposition sufliciently removed therefrom to prevent interference bysubsequent chutes with material which has been deposited on the conveyerfrom'apreceding hopper4 or hoppers.

Astill furtherobject of the invention is to provide controlling gatesassociated with each chute together with means for moving such gates toand from closed position, there also being lost motion chute operatingconnections between the gate operating means and its associated chute,whereby the chute will not be moved to nondischarging position untilafter the gate vhas been closed, and contra, the chute will belowered todischarging position before the gate is opened. v U

A still further object of the invention is Yto provide the side walls ofthe chutes with flexible sealing members for engagement with theytraveling conveyerV when thechutes are in discharging position, wherebyany material being discharged by the chutes onto the conveyerI will beprevented from working its waybetween the chute walls and the conveyerbelt and over the sides of the latter. The said ilexible sealing membersalso reduce friction between the chute and the belt thereby tending toeliminate'undue wear upon the latter.

With the above and other objects in View which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists in the novel details ofconstruction and combinations of parts more fully hereinafter describedand particularly pointed out in the appended claims. l

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification in which like reference characters designate like parts inall the views1 l Y Figure l isa fragmentary side elevational view o'f atraveling belt convey'er, illustrating three or Vbins' 8, 8fand 8;

respectively. Y v

The Vhopper ftermnates at itslower end inan vthe said chute onto thebelt from working its'way A 'the belt.

rmaterial supply hoppers associated therewith,

each of which is provided with charging means constructed in accordancewith the present invention;

Figure 2 isa transverse sectional elevational view of the parts shown inFigure l, as seen from the left of said gure; and

Figure `3 is a detail perspective view of one of the materialcontrolling gates'.

. Referring more particularly to the said drawings 5 indicates atravelingconveyer of any suitableconstruction here shown as comprising aflexible belt,.the Yupper runy of which is mounted upon suitabletroughing rolls 6 and the lower run of which ,is supported by thestraight cylindrical return rolls 7, all as is -well known in the art.

`Mounted above the said conveyer 5 and prefervably Ain longitudinalalignment therewith is a series of material-receiving and holdinghoppers Although three hoppers have been illustrated ,in Figure 1 itwill ofcourse Abe understoodtnat one or any number of such .hoppers maybe employed, as conditions require.

vvv'Tiheloading mechanism vconstituting ythe present invention hasbeenshown in connection with .each ofthe hoppers 8,'8 and 8" and suchmechanisms, while identical in construction, have been ilustrated inthree different positions which they .assumein the `courseof operation.The mechanism associated with ,the hopper 8 will be de- .scribed indetail, with thecorresponding parts of .the mechanisms associated with8" and 8 indicated -by corresponding reference characters having prime`and double prime exponents inclined rectanglnilarv conduit or spout 9Vbelow which is mounted a ,transversely extending shaft 10 oscillatablein suitable bearings 11.y Loosely ,k mounted' on thev said shaft 10 is achute 12` the 95 kside walls 13 vofjvhich when in its lowered position,

extend downwardly into close proximity with the upperfsuriace oftheconveyer belt 5. r)The said side walls along their lower edge'sareprovided with rubber or other similar iieXible strips or sealing members14 which are adaptedto yieldably engage the upper surfacer of the saidconvey'er belt and prevent ,materialy .traveling through roo laterallyover the edges of thel belt', as will `be readily understood.` The saidiiexible members 14 also tend to eliminate wear upon the belt 5, whichwould otherwise occur` if the side walls 13 were extended downwardly soas to Contact with 1.10

tion each pivot 17 thereof is provided with a leverV arm 19, which armsare connected by links 20 to arms 21 rigidly carried bythe shaft 10. Thesaid shaft is also provided with a lever arm V22 pivotally connectedthrough a link 23 with onev arm 24 of a bell cranklever 25, pivoted asat 26,l and the otherarm 27 of which constitutesa hand lever whereby theparts may be operated. v 1

The mechanism just described constitutes" the means for moving the gate15 from open to .closed position and vice versa, it being obvious fromFigure 1 that when the 'hand operating lever such as 27 is swung to thepositionl such as that occupied by the lever 27 they shaft 10 will,

' through the link-23 and arm 22, be moved in a clockwise direction.This movement of the said shaft will through the arms21, links 20 andarms 19, rock the pivots 17 together with the gate 15 in acounterclockwise direction so Vthat said gate will assume the positionillustrated for the gate 15. Such movement of the gate will of coursecut off the ilow of material through the chute 12 as will be readilyunderstood.

- For raising the chute 12 after the flow of material has been thus cutolf, in order that it may not interfere with the material deposited onthe conveyer from preceding hoppers such as 8' and 8, the shaft 10 isprovided with one or more rigid depending arms 30 which are so disposedrelative to the bottom wall 18 of the chute that they will move throughan arc of predetermined extent from the position shown in connectionwith chute 12 to that shown in-.connection with chute 12 before theycontact with thesaid bottom wall. In other words, there will be lostmotion between the arms 3 0 and the chute 12 durbut as soon as .thesaid'gate reaches its closed position the saidy arms 30 will engage thelower surface ofthe bottom wall'of'the chute, and-con- *tinued operationofthe vhand lever 27 vwill 'then cause the said arms to raise the chutetogether with the gateto the position illustratedin connection withchute 12". Iny this position the chute obviously is elevated a suicientdistance to clear any material which has. been deposited upon theconveyer belt 5 from a preceding hopper and therefore there will be nointerference between such material and the succeeding chutes when theyare so raised. The elevation of the chutes in this manner alsoremovesthe'flexible sealing members 14 from engagement with the conveyerb'elt and reduces such wear as they may cause upon said belt.`

The arms 22, links 23 and bell crank levers 25 are preferablyso'constructed and assembled as to afford a togglelock yfor the chargingmechanismr as will, be readily apparent from Figure 1, which serves tomaintain the gate Yin, its open position as shown at the left of saidfigure, and also tomaintain'the chute in its elevated position shown at12" at the right of said figure.

shown at the 'left of Figure l the pivot 31 between the link 23 and thearm 24 has been moved to the left of the center line extending betweenpivots 26 and 32, and any tendency of the gate 15 to drop under theiniluence of gravity from its elevated position here shown will betransmitted through the arms 19, links 20, arms 21 and 22 and link 23 tothe bell crank lever 25 tending to move the latter in a counterclockwisedirection, which movement however is prevented through engagement of thehand lever 27 with the ange 33 of the angle member 34 carried by thehopper. In like manner when the parts are in the double prime positionsillustrated in the right of Figure 1 the pivot 31" is again to the leftof the center line extending between pivots 26 and 32 and any tendencyfor the chute 12 to fall will through the arms 30 and 22 tend to raisethe link 23 and move the bell crank lever 25" in a clockwise direction,which likewiseV will be prevented through engagement of the hand lever27" with the right hand portion of the flange 33" of the angle member34".

While one form of the invention has been illustrated and described, itis obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details ofconstruction as well as the precise arrangement of parts withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, and therefore it is notwished to be limited to the above disclosure except as may be requiredby the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Loading apparatus for traveling conveyers, comprising a materialholding hopper positioned above said conveyer; a material conductingchute mounted below said hopper, movable from a discharge positioninproximity to said conveyer to a non-discharge position removedtherefrom, said chute being adapted in its discharge position tocontinuously transfer material from the yhopper to the conveyer; amovable gate carried by said chute' for controlling the passage ofmaterial therethrough; and a single means for sequentially'moving saidgate from open to closed position to cut olf the flow of materialthrough said chute,

and then moving said chute from discharge to f non-discharge position.ing the closing of the gate 15 as above described,

2. Loading apparatus for traveling conveyers,

'comprising a material holding hopper positioned la non-dischargeposition removed therefrom; a

movable gate carried by said chute for controlling the passage ofmaterial therethrough; means for moving said gate from open to closedposition; and Alost motion connections between said moving means andsaid chute for moving the latter from discharging to non-dischargingposition subsequent to the closing of said gate.

3,. Loading apparatusy for traveling conveyers, comprising a materialholding rhopper positioned above said conveyer; a material conductingchute pivotally mounted below said hopper, movable in a vertical arcfrom a discharge position in engagement with said conveyer to anon-discharge position elevated thereover; a pivoted Vgate carried bysaid chute for controlling the passage of f material therethrough; meansincluding operating levers and linkage connections for swinging saidgate from open to closed position, and vice versa; and lost motionconnections between said gate operating means and chute, including an'arm for engaging said chute, for swinging said chute upwardly fromdischarging position to non-discharging position subsequent to theclosing of said gate, and lowering said chute to discharging positionprior to the opening of said gate.

4. In loading apparatus for traveling conveyers, a plurality ofmaterial-holding hoppers positioned above and adapted to dischargematerial at intervals along said conveyer; a movable chute precedinghopper.

FREDERICK A. PAMPEL.

